Arrows to Freedom
by x.SodeNoZangetsu.x
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, all of humanity has been driven underground. Yet, few still thrive above. Many have been affected by a virus turning them into creatures only known as Hollows; others are humans who have escaped the underground. Rukia is one of them. On a journey to find a rumored Haven, she searches for any truth left in the world. AU. Eventual IchiRuki.
1. Chapter 1

**If this seems familiar to anyone it's because this story was on the site for a while before I took it down simply because it was not ready. Now, it has gone under significant review and revision—although I wouldn't put it past me to still have some slight errors here and there—and is ready to be re-released. I am also several chapters into this which hopefully means quicker updates depending on how quickly I can continue to dish out chapters.**

**Anyway, blah, blah, blah… I don't own Bleach or the ideas of which have been transformed to fit this story. Though completely AU, many aspects of Bleach are still present. If you recognize it, it's safe to say I don't own it.**

**Please enjoy, drop and review, and let me know your thoughts!**

* * *

.:Arrows to Freedom:.

* * *

They say it wasn't always like this. According to the adults, there was a time when people actually lived _above_ ground. Not underneath it. I can't imagine a life like that. "Above ground"? To us, "above ground" is just a myth. No one's seen what it's like up there. As far as we're concerned, it could be worse than it is down here.

I wonder what it's like sometimes, though. It's intriguing to me. No one knows what's up there. There could still be people living there. Not everyone had a chance to flee when disaster struck. If it hadn't been for this stupid war which started over a hundred years ago, we wouldn't have had to build underground cities and create a whole new life for humanity. I'm not even sure why or how the war started. No one knows, seeing as no one living now was alive when it began. They supposedly teach us in school what happened, but how can they know? I don't believe any of it.

_Supposedly_, the war started over a struggle for human resources. Apparently, times were becoming tough and resources were scarce. So, as is _always_ the rational thing to do, war began. The war itself lasted almost forty years, then—as all the teenagers and children here put it—the _apocalypse_ happened. Some kind of virus was released which made people severely ill. _Zombies_, Renji puts it. Zombies, mutants, ill, I don't know exactly _what_ they are, but now they are termed Hollows. Apparently the virus made humans lose all rationality. It's almost like their hearts aren't there anymore which is apparently where the term "Hollow" came from. There's no heart anymore, just a hollow space. Myth, legend, whatever, says that they group together to hunt the well. Okay, I guess in a way Renji is right when he calls them zombies.

Thousands of people fled underground when the virus began spreading and there was no cure in sight. According to stories, you'd be surprised at how fast people can build underground. Before a hundred years ago, the thought of living underground was absurd. I still think it's absurd. I want to go up there, where humanity is supposed to live. One day, I will. I will get "above ground". There are also legends that the few people who did survive "above ground" and didn't become Hollows created a sort of haven. There are rumored to be several spread across the nation. Are they real? Hell if I know, but I'm determined to find out. The underground life isn't all that glamorous. Everyone's trying to build it up as something amazing. "We're survivors!" "We're creating history!" No shit we're survivors and creating history! But if there are people _living_ and _not Hollows_ "above ground", why can't we leave? We're literally not allowed. There are _guards_ who patrol the only gate out of here.

I miss the sun. I've never even seen it, yet I still miss it. We have artificial light here. It's light from seven in the morning to ten at night, then the artificial stars and moon come out. It's pretty lame and I don't even have anything to compare it to. I've seen paintings people saved from "above ground" and all of them are beautiful. They depict beautiful sunrises and sunsets over a body of water—which is yet _another_ thing I've never seen, aside from our water source here which we call a lake—and peaceful sceneries at night. The moon looks so beautiful, but the only time I get to see it is in my dreams and even there it lacks the luster the paintings give.

My brother swears that one day human life will emerge back to the surface. I've given up hope that that day will be anytime soon. We've been living down here for a little over a hundred years—one hundred and four, I think it will be this year—and no efforts have been made to "emerge". We have scouts that go up every year or so to see how the living situation is there. Whether the air is toxic, if everything is dead or not, blah, blah, blah. But, it's funny how we never hear any of their reports in full. "Progress has been made since last year, but life is not sustainable enough yet." That's about all we hear year after year. I'm beginning to think we'll never leave this place and that's why I plan to break out.

Somehow. Still haven't thought that part through.

April 17, 2208

**Chapter One**

The sound of the generators coming to life woke Rukia up as they always did in the morning. She wished she could sleep later than seven in the morning, but the constant hum drove her insane. Others were able to block it out, like her friend Renji who was never up before ten, but she never was. That's why she loved the nighttime better. There was no hum. The artificial stars and moon didn't emit a hum because they didn't use that much power. She would stay up until two in the morning sometimes, writing and just basking in the silence. She still wasn't exactly sure how there was electricity underground, but she didn't question it. Even if she did, she knew she wouldn't get an answer because anyone who would tell wouldn't know. The only people who knew that kind of information were the Authorities and they were a rather silent bunch.

Sliding out of bed, Rukia exited her room and padded across the dirt floor of her house to the kitchen. Dirt; was she sick of it. One would guess the underground was full of dirt, but if humanity had to survive down here for the rest of eternity, you would think they would have brought carpet and wood from above. Maybe that would happen eventually.

"Good morning, brother," Rukia grumbled as she entered the kitchen and sat herself down at the table.

"Good morning, Rukia," Byakuya responded idly, flipping through the daily paper. "There's some bacon on the stove if you're hungry."

_Great, processed meat for breakfast. Again,_ Rukia thought as she got up from her seat.

That was another thing she hated about this life underground. No real meat. Even though she had no idea what real meat tasted like, the idea of processed meat disgusted her. No animals lived down here, thus no meat. Except for the occasional bug, Rukia had never seen an animal in her life. She thanked the high heavens that someone had figured out how to grow crops underground. At least the vegetables and fruit were real.

Coming back to the table with two pieces of bacon and a healthy portion of blueberries, Rukia sat quietly and ate, reading the front of the paper from where Byakuya held it.

"So, can we leave here yet?" she asked, seeing the front headline of the results of this year's Mission. "Or is life still not 'sustainable'?"

"They say that progress has been made and it is hopeful that our emergence will happen soon," Byakuya said without looking up.

"So, same as last year," Rukia muttered.

Byakuya glanced at her from atop the paper. "Aren't you going to be late for school?"

Rukia sighed and stood up. "I'm going."

"Don't forget to take Renji with you."

Rukia rolled her eyes as she walked back into her room to change. What Byakuya didn't know was that not only was Renji always playing hooky, but so was she. Oh, she made sure she showed up enough so that Byakuya wouldn't get suspicious and so that she continued to get good grades, but she still skipped often. She used to love school when she was younger, but as she got older and started realizing they simply taught the same thing over and over again—as far as history was concerned, at least—she began ducking out. What was the point of going every day just to listen to the same lecture you've been getting for the past eight years?

Not that there was much to do outside of school. There was a movie theater—believe it or not, movies were still made underground—and a park as well as an arcade. Of course that was just in the sector Rukia lived in. There were other underground cities, or sectors, all spread out beneath what Rukia learned used to be called the United States. The sectors didn't really differ from each other, but Rukia still liked to travel just because it allowed her to get away, even though she still couldn't escape the underground.

She and Renji usually spent most of their time at the lake. It wasn't a real lake, more like their sector's water source so water was constantly flowing in and out, but it was still the closest thing Rukia had to life "above ground". There was even synthetic grass all around the lake's perimeter. Even if Renji wasn't with her, Rukia always found herself there in the majority of her free time, usually with her notebook in her lap.

As Rukia left the house that morning, the lake was her only destination. She knew Renji would join her when he finally woke up. Hopping the fence surrounding the water source, Rukia quickly scurried to far end of the lake to escape the eyes of the Authorities. In all the years she and Renji had been coming here they had never been caught, yet they always took precautions. Neither knew what would happen if they were caught, but they weren't too keen on finding out.

Rukia dropped her backpack in the lush, fake grass before kicking off her shoes and dipping her feet over the edge into the water. She had considered the fact that she was putting her feet in everyone's water source, but after a day's worth of investigation, she had discovered the water was purified as it left the lake and traveled to everyone's homes so she wasn't bothered by it anymore. She and Renji had even gone swimming before, but the current was so strong it was hard to stay afloat.

Still, it was a peaceful place. The sound of the current was soothing and the water lapping against her legs was always refreshing. As she fell onto her back, she stared at the "sun" and awaited Renji's arrival.

XxXxX

She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep until she was awoken by a shadow blocking her light.

"You finally able to block out the humming?" Renji's voice questioned.

Rukia opened her eyes to see her red-headed friend grinning down at her.

"Apparently," she replied. "It is quieter here than at my home, though."

"Maybe you should just call this place your new home."

Rukia chuckled. "Believe me, I've considered it."

"Byakuya wouldn't find it too amusing," Renji added as he sat himself down beside her, also putting his feet into the water.

Rukia rolled her eyes at the mention of her brother. She could honestly care less what he thought. He worked as an apprentice for the Authorities down here and thus, like the rest of the high-ends down here, always seemed to have a stick up his ass. At first, Rukia had treated him with respect in hopes that he could get some answers from his superiors, but when he started becoming more like them and less like the older brother she used to know, she lost that respect. Answers were not coming. From anybody, it seemed.

"So, what do you think they're talking about at school today?" Renji asked.

"Probably the release of the latest Mission results."

"So, in other words: nothing."

Rukia laughed at that. This was why Renji was her best friend. They had so much in common. They both hated the life under here and both had caught on to all the lies and bull they were fed. Although Rukia was more gung-ho in breaking out and Renji was just content to talk bad behind the Authorities' backs, it was nice to have someone to come to with all your problems and have the person legitimately understand where you were coming from.

"I found another art book," Renji spoke up again, pulling a book out from his jacket.

"Did you take this from the library too?" Rukia asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yup," Renji responded proudly. "This one's by a guy named Claude Monet."

Rukia placed the book in her lap and opened to the first page.

"He does a lot with water, which I thought you'd like," Renji told her. "Most of them are closer to the back."

Rukia flipped to a random page near the back of the book. The page she had flipped to depicted a pond with water lilies floating peacefully across the surface of the water. She flipped to another page and was greeted to the sight of another water painting; this one with a long boat and buildings seeming to just sprout out of the water. Flipping back to the front of the book, Rukia turned to a page that was a landscape of a river jutting through the land. Lush, green, _real_ grass surrounded it as well as tall green trees. A man was seen by the side of the river under a sky of blue and white, puffy clouds.

"They're all so beautiful," Rukia mumbled, entranced by the paintings. "These are the best yet."

"Glad you like it," Renji said.

"You think it still looks like this up there?" she asked, pointing to the river landscape.

Renji shrugged. "For all we know, it could."

"If it does, I don't know why they won't let us come up. It looks so peaceful, so quiet. No hum or generators, no artificial anything. That man looks happy."

Renji laughed. "Rukia, you can't even see his face."

"I bet if you could, he'd be smiling."

"You're still hung up over getting out of here, huh?"

"Of course!" Rukia snapped. "Don't you want to get out of here? Eighteen years of this is enough; I can't even begin to understand how people like my brother and other adults have stood it for this long."

"But what if 'above ground' isn't like this?" Renji questioned, pointing to the book. "What if it's desolate and ugly? What if it really can't sustain life?"

"I refuse to believe that," Rukia replied.

"I know you do, and I do mostly, but still…there's no way to know."

"There would be if those damned Authorities would just tell us!"

"Okay, okay," Renji said, trying to calm Rukia down. "Let's say you're leaving here tonight. How would you go about getting out?"

"Those guards have to eat at some point. They have to leave their post some time. I'd watch them for a few days to study their routine, and then when they leave to eat or change guards or whatever, I'd make my move," she explained.

"Then what do you do when you got out?" Renji asked next. He always let Rukia talk as if she was going to escape when she got riled up. It seemed to calm her down and Renji liked to imagine her escaping. She hated it here so much.

"I'd make my way towards the nearest haven. It's rumored that there is one to the south. How far south, I don't know, but I'd go that direction regardless."

"Okay, so let's say you get up there and it is just like in this book," Renji proposed. "What do you for food?"

"Hunt," Rukia replied simply. "That's easy. Animals exist up there as well as fruit and vegetables."

"And if it's a desolate wasteland?"

"Scavenge for food. There has to be food left from when everyone fled underground. There may even be some animals still alive. The virus affected humans, not animals."

"What if you run into a Hollow?"

"Kill it."

"How?"

"Improvise."

Renji smiled. Every answer was the same as last time. She truly was serious about escaping; he could only imagine how many times a day she went over her escape plan in her head. He had considered going with her on several occasions. The only thing that kept him from leaving with her was his little brother. Rukia had no younger siblings. It was just her and Byakuya and, in Renji's eyes, he was a jerk.

"One of these days, Renji, I swear I will get out of here," Rukia sighed.

Renji smiled sympathetically and placed his arm around her. "And one of these days I know you will."

"You should still come with me," she said.

"I couldn't just leave Kenji."

Rukia shrugged. "The more the merrier when it comes to battling Hollows."

"He's eight, Rukia."

Rukia huffed. "I keep forgetting, sorry. He acts so much older." She looked to Renji suggestively. "Unlike a certain Abarai I know."

"Oh, come on! I'm mature!"

"Sometimes."

"You just need to learn to have more fun every now and then," Renji said. "You get too hung up over this escaping thing. I truly understand how much you want to escape, but until then, live your life, Rukia."

"Now, _that_ sounded mature."

"I'm being serious here, Rukia."

She replied with a sigh before saying, "I know, I'm sorry."

Renji echoed her sigh before falling onto his back. Rukia twirled a blade of synthetic grass between her fingers as the pair let a peaceful silence pass between them. Well, aside from the soft, incessant generator hum.

"You wanna give swimming another try?" Rukia asked suddenly.

Renji chuckled. "Where did that come from?"

"Something to do," Rukia said with a shrug.

"You do remember our last attempt at swimming, right?"

"Yeah."

"You really want to experience that again?"

Rukia pouted. "Downer. I'm just trying to think of things to do."

Renji sat back up. "We could catch a movie." When he didn't get a response, he added, "Or I can leave you here to brood."

"Leave me to brood then," Rukia replied. "I'm not really in the mood to see a movie."

"Suit yourself," Renji said as he stood to stretch. "School's almost over anyway; I got to go pick up Kenji."

"You going to school tomorrow?" Rukia asked as he turned to walk away.

"I might. Don't want to look suspicious. You?"

Rukia shook her head. "Pretend I'm sick or something."

"Alright then. See ya later, Rukia."

As Renji left, Rukia pulled the art book back into her lap and flipped to another random page. It was the same page with the picture of the man by the river. Studying it carefully, Rukia pulled her notebook into her lap as well and, after flipping to a blank page in the back, began to sketch a replica of the scene. Only in her book, the figure was a girl much like her. When the rough outline was done, and as Rukia studied the drawing of herself looking up at the clouds above, her resolve to escape had never burned stronger.


	2. Chapter 2

So, those guards literally never move. I may be over-exaggerating here, but that's what it seemed like at least. They took five steps down the hall before two more guards came to replace them. Then the next two didn't move for another _five_ hours. I skipped school yesterday just to watch two guys stand still for half a day and not move a muscle? I would've rather been at school learning about the war for the twentieth time—and that's saying something, coming from me.

Anyway, I'm thinking about writing a book about my journeys once I finally get out of here. It'd be interesting, I think. That way, people in generations to come can read my story to understand how people lived and survived immediately after the war, both under and above ground.

After I left the lake yesterday, I went back home and spent the rest of the night copying the paintings in Monet's book and making them my own. Now, along with my writings, many drawings of me and of empty landscapes join them. Perhaps if my story idea gets off the ground, I'll make it more into a picture book. Then people can actually compare the two worlds instead of just having to imagine it themselves.

Nobody's ever seen my artwork before, or even read any of the things I write. Not even Renji. He knows I write, but he's never read any of it before. I think he realizes that I'm a pretty private person and that writing is a very personal thing for me. I'm both surprised and pleased that he's never asked to read anything. He's never even made an attempt to read over my shoulder or steal my notebook when I'm not looking—which I wouldn't put past him. Obviously if my writings become a book, the entirety of the world may be reading it, but I'm okay with that. Is it weird that I'd rather have millions of strangers read my writing rather than my best friend?

Of course, if I don't find a way to get out of here, those writings will never come to fruition and will remain hidden from the world in my old, ratty notebook.

April 19, 2208

**Chapter Two**

"I'm surprised you showed up today," Renji said as he approached Rukia in the schoolyard the following day. "Not feeling sick anymore?" he asked with a grin and a wink.

"Must've been a bug of sorts," she replied as they headed into the building.

"Did you get any intel from the guards yesterday?"

Rukia huffed. "Aside from the fact that they may be robots by how still they stand? Nothing at all. You know I would've rather been at school?"

Renji chuckled. "Now that's saying something."

"Right?"

"You know you will make it out of here someday," Renji told her as they entered one of the classrooms and found their seats.

"Funny," Rukia said. "I recall you saying something similar a few days ago."

Renji shrugged. "Just want you to keep your hopes up."

"Believe me; they're never going down in the slightest."

XxXxX

After attending school the rest of the week, Rukia headed to library alone the first chance she got. Usually Renji would tag along with her, but today she requested to come alone. There wasn't any particular reason she didn't want him to come, she just felt like having some time to herself.

Hefting her bag which carried her notebook on her shoulder, Rukia headed towards the far end of the library. She came to a door which was marked off to customers, yet she slipped inside anyway. Like with the lake, she and Renji had come down here many times despite signs, orders and what-not. She hadn't been caught yet. Descending a flight of stairs, Rukia went through another door before she found herself in an inaccessible wing of the library. She figured it was because this was where all of the art books were kept. Rukia liked to believed it was because the Authorities didn't want people to know what the world looked like "above ground" so they wouldn't question why they were being kept down here. Unfortunately for them, Rukia and Renji had been curious teens bent on rebellion against the Authorities and because of that, had stumbled across their "treasury" one day.

Strolling down the aisles of books aimlessly, Rukia hugged the book of Monet's artwork to her chest. She liked coming down here because here she was surrounded by the truth. Or what she desperately wanted to believe was the truth. So most of the books down here were very old and a lot could have changed up above regardless of the effects of war, yet she still held strong in the belief that what these books depicted were real. Even then, Rukia thought as she pulled out a familiar book, a few books here depicted sceneries of desert wastelands: Dead trees on an empty plain with swirls of dust blown by gusts of ominous winds. Even in those Rukia was able to find some beauty. She didn't care what the Earth looked like up there, she just wanted to get out of here. Yes, it would be much better if it was like the paintings in Monet's book, but even if it wasn't, in her eyes, it was better than being trapped down here.

Because that's how she felt: trapped.

As Rukia pulled out another book which was new to her, she heard the door open. Freezing where she stood, she panicked as she thought of what to do. No one had ever come down here before. Looking around, she spotted a table at the end of the aisles and quickly ran towards it, scrambling beneath it as she reached it. Luckily, the room down here was poorly lit. Even if she hadn't hid she probably wouldn't have been found. Still, better safe than sorry. Especially since she wasn't supposed to be down here.

She watched as a pair of black boots walked right past her. Black boots meant Authorities. But what were they doing down here? Had they perhaps found out that one of their books went missing? An art book no less?

Rukia hoped she was just blowing things out of proportion, but it was still curious. Soon though, she heard another door open and close on the other side of the room. She had seen that door before, but she and Renji had yet to venture through it. Waiting another minute or so without any reappearance by the Authority, Rukia slowly crawled out from under the table. She looked down the hall to the door the Authority had entered and strained to hear any sort of movement beyond it. When all she got was silence in return, she quietly went back to looking at the shelves of books she was standing between. She was frustrated that she now had to worry about being caught and not being able to linger, so she quickly grabbed a book and replaced it with the Monet one before walking back to the door she had come through.

Being more careful than she usually was, she pressed her ear to the door before exiting. Quickly going up the steps she listened through the next door too before cracking it open to make sure no one would see her come out of it. When the coast was clear, she swiftly exited and, stowing the new book in her bag, made her way back to the front of the library.

Once she arrived home, she went to her room, shut the door and pulled out the book she had taken. She was slightly miffed when she saw the book she had taken wasn't an art book, but one of photography. She knew what photography was, but had never really taken the time to study it. She was personally more interested in art, although in school she had learned photography was a different kind of art.

Photography didn't really exist down here. A few people owned cameras, but only because their job required it or if it had been brought down here by their ancestors. What was there to take pictures of? Dirt? Your sector's water source?

Mentally cussing out the Authority that distracted her, Rukia pulled the photography book into her lap. Might as well look at it since she took it.

She found some relief in the fact that the book was an assortment of different scenes "above ground". At least it was the same as the Monet book she had fallen in love with. Besides, perhaps it would be interesting to study a different media.

One particular photo caught her eye. Different from anything she had seen before with Monet or any other artist, this scene depicted the busy life of a city. People milled about down the sidewalk as the photo looked down on them at an angle in order to capture the rest of the city. Huge, tall buildings accompanied the tiny people and high up above the skyscrapers was blue sky. Even though it was completely different than anything she had enjoyed looking at before, it was beautiful in its own way. The different colors of clothes all the people were wearing against the grays, browns and blacks of the buildings was alluring and the blue and white of the sky added to effect even more.

Rukia flipped the page to find the exact same picture only this time it was night out. She liked this picture even more. Something about nighttime enchanted her. However, like its daytime brother, this picture was beautiful in its own way too. Where all the rural night scenes she had studied usually depicted a vast, open black sky dotted with millions of stars and the fascinating, white moon, this city scene had no moon in it and only a few stars above the buildings. What was so beautiful about it, Rukia found, were all the different colored lights on the buildings and the streets below. Where the people had all the color during the daytime, this time they were more subdued and the lights were where the picture got its vibrant colors. Signs lit up in an array of colors advertised all sorts of things. There was even one building which looked like it had a huge television plastered to it, its screen frozen in time with the nightly news.

Rukia didn't even hear Byakuya come home until he was knocking at her door. Startled, Rukia jumped to hide the book before running to the door.

"Hello, brother," she greeted upon opening her door.

"Hello," he responded. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Rukia answered, following him out into the main room. "I spent most of it at the library."

"Was Renji with you?"

"No, I wanted to be alone."

"Anything wrong?"

Rukia shook her head. "No; I just wanted time to myself."

"Well, there's no shame in that," Byakuya replied. "Are you hungry?"

"Not right now. I might go grab a bite to eat with Renji later."

"Suit yourself," Byakuya said as he headed into the kitchen.

As that was the end of their enthralling conversation, Rukia headed back into her room. That conversation was basically the extent of all conversations she and her brother had. There used to be a time when they were never that stiff or awkward with the other. This was of course before he had become an apprentice of the Authorities. She really didn't even know what an "apprentice" was, but thought it better not to ask him in order to avoid yet another awkward conversation.

XxXxX

Later that night, Rukia had met up with Renji and after stopping to eat, had headed back to the lake together. There really was nowhere else they could talk and know they were alone.

"I got another book today," Rukia spoke once they settled in their usual spot. "It isn't paintings like the last one, but photography."

"I thought you weren't a fan of photography," Renji mentioned as he took the book from Rukia.

"It's growing on me," she replied with a shrug. "Besides, I had to grab something fast after I was interrupted by an Authority."

That caught Renji's attention.

"What?!" he nearly shouted. "Were you seen?"

"No, I hid under a table which was luckily there. But, what do you think they were doing down in the library?" Rukia looked up as she thought. "I suppose there could be an office down there, but we go down there all the time and have never seen one."

"Well, as long as you weren't caught," Renji said. "Although it is curious."

Deciding to speak her mind, Rukia asked, "You don't think they know we took a book from down there, do you?"

Renji scoffed. "I doubt it. We only take one at a time. It's not like they count the books every night. I mean, they could, but that just seems kind of unreasonable, don't you think?"

"You never know."

"The guy just walked right past you though, right?" Renji asked as he opened the book back up. "He didn't seem to be walking up and down the aisles or anything?"

"No, he just walked from one door to another," Rukia said.

"Then I doubt it was anything. A chance encounter. Though, I suppose we should start being more careful if we go down there now."

A moment of silence passed as Renji turned the pages of the new book and Rukia was busy recalling her near-encounter with the Authority today.

"Woah," Renji's voice brought her back.

Rukia leaned over and saw he was on the page of the nighttime city scene. She smiled.

"That's what I thought when I first saw it," she said.

"It's so different," Renji mumbled. "It's almost weird."

"I think it's pretty," Rukia said.

Renji smirked. "Of course you do."

He looked back to the page.

"Think this still looks the same?"

Rukia sighed. "I hope so. But if you're comparing this to a rural scene, probably not. Wouldn't all the buildings have to be maintained? I doubt the Hollows do anything."

Renji chuckled at the thought of Hollows cleaning a building and sweeping the streets.

"There could still be people up there that aren't Hollows who do it," he said.

This time Rukia laughed. "Please stop trying to sound optimistic for me."

"I'm serious!" Renji exclaimed. "I believe there could be. The whole world above can't only be inhabited by Hollows. I mean, don't you think there are others searching for the havens?"

"I like to think so," Rukia said. "Which also means others have snuck past those guards and escaped."

"See?"

"Unless our sector is the only one with _robot_ guards," she added as an afterthought.

Renji sighed. "I told you we could create some kind of diversion. I distract them, you sneak past?"

"After the other day, that looks like what we're going to have to go with," Rukia affirmed.

As Renji went back to looking at the photography book, Rukia pulled out her notebook and began a mindless sketch. The two friends didn't even realize how much time had passed until the lights shut off and the "stars" came out.

"Ten o' clock already?" Renji questioned, looking up.

"I need to get home," Rukia sighed. "Byakuya's gonna freak. I told him we were going out to dinner. Dinner doesn't usually take three hours."

"Lie to him," Renji suggested. "Not like you never have."

He handed the book back to her which she put in her bag with her notebook.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Renji asked her as they hopped the fence together.

"I don't know yet," she replied. "Don't worry; I'll come calling before I leave. I need your help now, remember?"

"A little notice in advance would be good, too."

Rukia laughed. "Can do."

XxXxX

The next day, Rukia left early in the morning to head to the subway station. She had left a note for Byakuya so as not to alarm him two days in a row of her whereabouts. As she stood at her gate, the thought of leaving her brother forever came to her mind for the first time.

How was she going to tell him she was leaving? Was she even going to tell him at all? She supposed she had to say something, but since he worked for the Authorities she was worried he would rat her out and they would come after her. Of course, that was assuming they chased down those who escaped. Even though their relationship had fallen apart in the last few years, he was still her brother and a major part of her life. She had just gotten over the fact that she was leaving Renji behind, she didn't want to have any more guilt to carry on her shoulders.

Thoughts of what to say to Byakuya filled her mind even after she had boarded the subway.

She was headed to the sector west of hers in order to visit a friend of hers. At eighty-six years old, Aiko was easily one of the oldest people living underground. Yes, she had been born down here, but her parents hadn't. Rukia had visited Aiko several times before and had heard stories from her parents about fleeing during the war and about starting life below ground. They always fascinated Rukia, not only because it was the only history she was willing to believe, but because they came from a primary source: Aiko's mother's diary.

During the trip, Rukia pulled out the sketch she had started last night and began shading it in. It had ended up being a drawing of the city she and Renji had become enraptured with, no surprise. Since the people were so small, she couldn't really add herself in this one, so instead, she had ended up drawing the moon rising above some of the buildings.

When the train arrived in the station, Rukia quickly exited and began making her way to Aiko's house. She was glad she had made friends with Aiko. Not only did it give her a reason to get out of her section every now and then, but because—despite being eighty-six—Aiko had become a sort of mother-figure to her. Rukia had never known her parents. Byakuya had only been four when they left, so he didn't remember much of them. They had no pictures, never received letters of their whereabouts, nothing. Rukia had toyed with the idea that they had fled "above ground". Taking a child and an infant with you would be too troublesome should Hollows attack. Still, Rukia wished she had been able to know them.

Coming to the house she recognized as Aiko's, Rukia walked to the door and knocked. Hearing shuffling inside, Rukia waited patiently, knowing Aiko was confined to a walker and it took her time to get around.

"Rukia!" the old woman exclaimed upon seeing her, a smile lighting up her aged features. "What a nice surprise!"

"I hope you don't mind me coming over without any notice," Rukia said as she was welcomed inside.

"It's no problem, dear. You know I always enjoy your company."

Rukia followed Aiko into the sitting area and settled herself on the couch as Aiko took the chair across from it.

"So, what brings you here?"

"I want to hear more stories about 'above ground'," Rukia explained. "Surely you haven't told me all of them?"

Aiko seemed to be pondering the matter as Rukia waited anxiously.

"As a matter of fact, I may have, dear," Aiko finally told her. "All the ones worth telling, anyhow. I'm sure you're not too interested in how my parents met."

Rukia smiled kindly, yet declined.

"Why are you so curious?" Aiko asked. "Ever since I met you two years ago you've been obsessed with stories from up above."

"I'm thinking about leaving here," Rukia explained. "Going 'above ground' and trying to make it to one of the havens."

Aiko chuckled. "Well, that would explain why you always ask me about it."

"Have you ever thought about it?" Rukia asked. "Leaving, I mean?"

"I may have at a younger age, but now I'm content to live out the rest of my life here." Aiko paused. "Is your friend Renji going with you?"

Rukia shook her head. "No, he can't bring himself to leave his younger brother. It's easy for me to leave because I don't have anyone to look after."

"Well, what about Byakuya? Surely he'll wonder and worry."

"He may at first," Rukia shrugged. "But I plan on leaving him some kind of letter as explanation. I'm not really sure why I'm so dead-set on leaving here myself, but I just know I want to find out what it's like up there."

"It is curious, dear," Aiko agreed. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"Soon. Renji and I have to come up with a plan to let me sneak past the guards first." Rukia looked up at Aiko and asked, "Does your sector have guards?"

"Oh, yes, dear; I'm sure all the sectors do."

"Why do think that is?"

This time, Aiko shrugged. "Perhaps it's for our protection; perhaps they're hiding something from us. No one really knows…"

"And everyone's too scared to ask," Rukia finished.

"Promise me one thing, dear," Aiko said, "If you do go, please be careful."

Rukia smiled. "I promise I will. Renji and I talk over my plan almost every day."

Rukia stayed and visited with Aiko for a couple more hours and, after being convinced to stay for lunch, finally headed back home late that afternoon. At the door, Rukia turned to give Aiko a hug.

"Thanks for all the stories and all the times you've let me visit, Aiko."

"It was never a problem, my dear. I shall miss your company immensely."

As Rukia turned to leave, Aiko let out a small "oh!" causing Rukia to halt in her steps.

"One thing, dear; hold on a minute," the old lady said as she disappeared back inside.

Rukia waited patiently, listening to the shuffle made my Aiko inside and wondering what she could be doing. Soon, Aiko had made her way back to the door, an old book hanging loosely in one hand. She handed it to Rukia, her frail hand shaking.

"I want you to have this, dear," she said as Rukia took it. "Both to remember me by and so you can recall the stories I've told you whenever you please."

Rukia looked at the front of the book and after a second of confusion, saw it was Aiko's mother's diary. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, Aiko, I can't take this!" Rukia tried to argue, making to hand it back.

"I want you to have it," the woman fought. "All it ever did was collect dust before you came around. Those stories truly fascinated you; I always enjoyed seeing the light flood your eyes as I retold them. I'm sure I got a few things mixed up too, now you can get the whole story, straight from my mother."

Rukia spent a few moments staring at the faded green cover, the torn binding and the yellow pages of the book.

"You're sure?" she asked as she looked back up.

Aiko smiled. "Of course. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't."

Rukia hugged Aiko again, fighting back a tear.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I promise to take good care of it."

XxXxX

A few days later, Rukia stayed home from school again as it was the day she and Renji were going to carry out their plan to let her escape. Shuffling around her room, Rukia gathered all the things she would need on her journey. Her notebook, of course, had been packed last night as well as the photography book she never returned. She had wanted to return to the library to retrieve the Monet book to take with her, but had decided against it last minute. Her favorites had been copied down in her notebook and were now colored in completely, making them almost exact replicas.

Next, Rukia added Aiko's mother's diary. Making sure nothing happened to it, she had wrapped it in an old bandana before placing it in her bag. Rukia had marked the place in the diary where the entries about the war began, excited to read them again.

Over at her desk, Rukia folded a picture of her and Renji and placed it in the pages of her notebook. Renji's dad was one of the few who owned a camera because he was on the school board and took pictures of school events. Renji had borrowed it one day when they went to the lake and the picture had been taken there. It wasn't any special memory or anything, but it was the only thing Rukia could take with her to remind her of him.

She also emptied out a case which held some money. She doubted she'd need money up there, but she figured better safe than sorry.

Deeming her room empty of anything substantial, Rukia headed into the kitchen to pack as much food that wouldn't spoil as she could. Just in case hunting would prove difficult, Rukia wanted to be prepared to last a while.

Her last stop was the dinner table where she sat down to write a letter to Byakuya. She told him where she had gone and her intent in doing so. She promised if her journey proved too difficult she'd turn back and come home and told him she hoped he wouldn't worry too much. At the end, just to make herself feel safer, she pleaded he not tell the Authorities where she went. After signing it with much love, she folded it and placed it on top of the newspaper where he'd be sure to see it.

Taking one last look around her home, Rukia sighed as she shouldered her bag and left to head to Renji's.

"You ready?" Renji questioned upon meeting up with her. "You look kind of unsure of yourself."

"I'm about to leave behind everything I've ever known, Renji. Of course I'm unsure of myself."

Renji placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're ready for this," he told her. "You've been planning for this for as long as I've known you. I've helped you plan this. I know you can do it." He gave her a hug as he added, "If anyone can survive up there, it's you."

Rukia laughed softly as she hugged her best friend back. "Thanks, Renji."

As they came to the corner that led down where the guards stood, they stopped. Rukia let out a huge sigh as she peered around the corner. She was so close.

"You'll check in on Byakuya every now and then?" she asked, turning back to him.

"Of course," Renji replied. "I may get my ass kicked for helping you, but I'll stop by every now and then anyway."

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" she asked next.

Renji smiled somberly. "I'm sure. Maybe I'll make it out of here one day too; but today's not that day."

Rukia turned back to peer around the corner again. The ladder leading out of here was the only thing her eyes could focus on.

"Rukia?" Renji's voice called to her.

She turned to face him.

"If you find a way to stay in contact, will you?"

"Of course I will," Rukia responded. "Don't want you thinking I died up there."

Renji smiled. "Good."

He soon joined her at the corner. Looking at his best friend, he asked, "You ready?"

Rukia only nodded and Renji knew she couldn't be any more ready.

"Okay then, wait until I lure them away from the ladder completely before you run," he said.

Rukia nodded again and this time Renji sighed.

"Goodbye, Rukia."

This time, Rukia actually turned to look at him.

"Bye, Renji," she smiled, kissing him briefly on the cheek.

Grinning ear to ear now, Renji took off running at the guards. He was supposed to make it look like he was heading for the ladder in hopes the guards would catch him. They fell for it. Renji wasn't two steps up the ladder before the guards were pulling him back down. Releasing a colorful string of vocabulary, Renji fought with the guards. As he broke free, he began running away from them down another corridor away from Rukia. Taunting them to catch him, the guards soon gave in and chased after him. Rukia was actually surprised they left their posts just to chase after a silly teen. Maybe they _were_ robots. Could humans be this stupid? Where were the reinforcements she had seen before?

As the last guard turned the corner, Rukia bolted from her spot and sprinted towards the ladder. Holding onto her backpack for dear life, she reached the ladder before scrambling up it. She had no idea how long of a climb she was in for or even if there would be more guards waiting for her at the top. She still couldn't believe she was actually doing this; she couldn't believe those guards had fallen for Renji's ruse. All she could comprehend was the action of climbing, one step after the other.

It was a long climb, too. Rukia had been expecting it, yet she hadn't taken the time to think of the strain it would put on her muscles. Shamefully, Rukia admitted she had forgotten they were hundreds of feet underground. Had she really been thinking it would be an easy climb?

A hard bump to the head stopped her ascent. She had finally reached the top. Looking back down, all she saw was darkness. The few lights lining the tunnel provided just enough light to see far enough ahead of you and behind you. She listened, yet there was no sound of Authorities climbing after her. Looking back up, Rukia saw the handle she was supposed to turn to open the door.

The door to freedom.

Her hand was shaking as she reached up and grabbed the cold metal handle. Turning it hard, the bolts clanked as the lock moved out of its place. Rukia glanced back down out of paranoia to make sure no one had heard before reaching her hand back out to push the door free.

Putting all her effort into opening the door, it soon creaked ajar ever so slightly on its hinges and a rush of light—real, honest to God light—flooded her senses.


	3. Chapter 3

**The new stuff begins here! As always, please drop a review!**

* * *

This. Place. Is. Amazing.

Really, though, it's all I ever hoped it would be. Granted, I haven't made it to any cities yet, but the rural area I came out in and have been traveling through for the past few days is just like the ones in any art book I have ever come across.

When I first pulled myself out of that tunnel the other day, I have to admit I was afraid to open my eyes. What if it was ugly? What if it was a desolate wasteland like Renji had speculated on occasion? After pulling off that great escape, I was really hoping it wouldn't all be in vain. Needless to say, it wasn't.

I was sticking to the field I came out in at first. You know, just in case I started having doubts about all this I could easily go crawling back. The more comfortable I became, the further I ventured away from the exit. A map would be great right about now since I have no idea where I am in regard to any city, state border, or even if I'm heading south. I think I am, but a map or compass would still be a big help. Guess I should have grabbed a compass when I left—since there's really no need for maps of above ground down below. Anyway, I _think_ I've been traveling south for the past three days now. I don't know if the haven there exists or what I'll do if it doesn't, but I've decided to simply cross that bridge when I come to it.

Just in my first hour out here I saw so many animals I can't even recall what all of them were. Birds and deer, definitely, but it seems like I saw so many more as well. After seeing nothing but bugs for eighteen years, blue jays and does were a grateful change.

This world is so beautiful. It makes me wonder even more now why the Authorities still say life isn't sustainable. The air is fresh, the water clean, food is abundant. What's not sustainable? City life? That can be restored. Cities didn't always exist, yet people still did; so we'll start all over. What about it? It can be done if they'd let us try.

I passed a house the other day. It was all by itself, but I'd learned in school that people live far from cities sometimes. Though if there was a house out here, I'm probably pretty close to a city. It was a quaint little place. I followed the gravel path up to the front porch before I stopped to think. I was curious and also cautious about going inside. I really wasn't too keen on discovering a dead body, but curiosity won me over and I ended up entering through the door which was ajar. Luckily, the house seemed evacuated and the only dead thing I stumbled across was a rat.

So far, I haven't killed anything. I think my excitement is overpowering my hunger, because I haven't eaten much since leaving. The peanut butter crackers I took from home have been enough for me so far.

I haven't run into any Hollows yet either, which is a great relief. Though I know more than five different ways to kill them—Renji and I did go over it almost every day—I know when the first encounter actually _comes_ a bit of stalling may take place. Nobody really knows what they look like. Everything anyone knows about them is all rumor and speculation. Some describe them as deformed human beings—probably where Renji gets off calling them zombies—and yet some say they look normal, they just aren't intelligent since they were infected with the virus.

If they are mutilated, I _really _hope I don't see one for a long time.

Regardless, my journey up here is only beginning.

May 1, 2208

**Chapter Three**

The sound of a constant drum woke Rukia from her sleep. Opening her eyes, she let the noise flood her ears while her brain tried to catch up with the rest of her. After remembering she had made it above ground and that there were no generators up here, she was curious as to what exactly she was hearing. _It's peaceful, whatever it is_, she thought as she rose into a sitting position. Her dwellings tonight had ended up being under the cover of a huge tree. It was full of thick, heavy leaves which hung low to the ground, almost like a cave. It protected her from night-dwelling creatures—Hollows and animals alike—and it was also dark and cozy.

When the drumming didn't stop and only got harder, Rukia's curiosity was more than piqued. Leaving her bag where it was, she carefully approached the wall of leaves surrounding her. Pulling a sheet back, she peered out and took in her surroundings.

It was raining.

Having never seen rain before, Rukia excitedly jumped out of the leaves and branches. Looking up at the sky, she tried to watch it fall, but it was hard with the drops constantly landing in her eyes. Eventually, she became content with watching it fall off in the distance. Wiping her face on her sleeve which was slowly becoming drenched, she beamed. This was something near magical to her.

Sure, she knew all about the weather; she had learned all about it in school and seen it in movies. But sunny and dark were the only weather conditions she had ever experienced in the underground. It never rained, never snowed, there was never a tornado or hurricane, it was just simply the sun "rising" and "setting" every day.

After doing a few spins and trying to catch the rain drops on her tongue, Rukia retreated back into the tree and fell to her knees by her bag. Pulling out her notebook, she returned to the tree's edge before sitting down, pulling a sheet of leaves back and instantly began to sketch the landscape before her. Since the sun was just beginning to come up, the setting was becoming even more breath-taking by the moment. She could see the wet grass glistening in the sun, the way the drops held on to the tree leaves before falling to the ground in a majestic splash, and the way the rain melded into the horizon far away. She wished there was a way she could record the sound of the rain falling to go along with her drawing, but a memory would have to suffice for now.

Besides, she was sure she would see rain again.

When it finally did calm into a drizzle, Rukia gathered her belongings and exited her humble abode. By now, it was close to noon. She wasn't on any schedule, but she did really want to find out if she was even heading in the right direction.

As she continued in what she hoped was south, she regretted not having searched the house she came across days ago for a map.

XxXxX

By the time night was beginning to fall, Rukia felt like she had barely made any progress. The landscape was still rural, she had come across no more houses…was everything really this spread out?

As she began climbing a hill, she wished something would happen to tell her she was doing something right.

Almost as in an answer to her prayer, Rukia came to a sudden halt at the top of the hill.

A city. She could see a city. Large, tall skyscrapers ascending into the clouds with a multitude of streets converging towards its center.

Rukia bounded down the hill. She stumbled and almost tripped a couple times, but her adrenaline kept her upright and going. She didn't stop until she had hopped a guard rail and her feet were on the solid pavement of an interstate. This time, Rukia took the time to look at all the cars. Another new thing to lock away in her memory. Renji had always dreamed about coming up here simply to drool over cars, having said something about wanting to drive a Porsche when he finally did. Rukia had jokingly promised if she found one, she would drive it for him.

All the cars were stopped on the highway and Rukia realized they were all heading out of the city. The other highway running parallel to the one she was standing on was empty. She supposed at first people had tried to escape the virus by escaping to the country, but even that had been in vain in the end. Stepping through the maze of cars, Rukia noticed all the cars were silent. She knew they made noise when they were running. Either the traffic had been so bad they had been turned off before being abandoned or their batteries had died. After all, they _had_ been sitting here for over a hundred years. Inching closer to a bright blue one which caught her interest, she peered inside. Suitcases and boxes filled the back seat, indicating that people had indeed been fleeing the city.

Looking into other cars, she realized many were packed in similar ways. Boxes of food, personal belongings, clothes, and miscellaneous objects were abundant. Rukia walked over to one which had a door hanging open. Leaning inside, and after a brief discussion with herself, she began to rifle through the bags and cases. A brief sense of guilt flooded her, but a more rational side told her that all these people were now dead. Corpses didn't care what happened to their stuff, and even if they did they couldn't do anything about it.

_Unless this car belongs to a Hollow standing right behind me,_ Rukia thought briefly.

Pausing in her rummage, she glanced over her shoulder to calm her rising paranoia, yet when an interstate devoid of any breathing thing aside herself greeted her, she laughed and reached back into the car.

Pushing a button on the dashboard, a compartment opened revealing even more items. Papers regarding the car, a CD case, a cigarette lighter, flashlight and a gun. Rukia quickly stowed both the lighter and the flashlight in her bag after testing to see if they worked. Then her attention went to the gun. Carefully picking it up, she held it in her hands and backed out of the car. She turned it over in her hands for a moment, careful to keep the barrel facing away from her. As with much above ground, she had never seen a gun before either. She knew they were weapons and had a long history in warfare, policing and simple personal protection. A few guns had existed underground, but none were being developed anymore. Even then, you had to be twenty-one just to hold one.

Holding it out in front of her, Rukia placed her finger on the trigger. It was heavier than she would have thought and it was hard to keep it steady, even when she held it in both hands. She wondered if there were any bullets in it.

A simple slip of the finger answered her question as the gun discharged with a loud bang. Surprised, Rukia dropped the gun and it clattered loudly onto the street.

"You tryin' to attract attention?" a voice sneered at her from behind.

Rukia stooped to grab the gun before turning around and aiming it at the voice.

He was a boy not much older than her. He had striking orange hair which he wore in a spiky mess. Rukia also couldn't help but notice his brown eyes. They were deep and alluring, although at the present they had a light to them no doubt caused by Rukia. There was also a smirk present on his face, giving him a smug overall appearance.

"Woah, there," he spoke, holding his hands up. "Put that thing down before you kill me. You obviously have no clue how to use it."

Rukia glanced down at his hip and saw he had a gun similar to hers stuffed into his belt.

"And you do?" she asked, still not lowering the gun.

"I've known since I was ten," he replied. "Now, seriously…put it down."

Rukia slowly lowered it and the boy began to approach her.

"Give me it," he demanded.

Complying, Rukia handed it over. She watched as the boy reached near the top of it and pushed a small button forward.

"I activated the safety on it so that won't happen again," he said. "The red light means the safety if on. If you want to fire it again, push that mechanism back and then pull the trigger." He then took out the clip and inspected it. "Although you only have three bullets left."

He then handed it back to her.

"I…uh, I don't plan to keep it. I was just curious," she said.

"I take it you're new up here?" he asked, smirking again.

"How did you ever guess?" Rukia asked sarcastically. "What threw it away: my fascination with the cars or my accidental firing of a gun?"

The boy chuckled. "Both, actually. Although I still search through cars too from time to time."

"How long have you been up here?" Rukia asked.

"Three years."

Rukia couldn't help her mouth from falling open slightly. "Really?"

The boy shrugged. "Could be shorter than that, or longer. Kinda start to lose track of time after a while."

Rukia was about to introduce herself, when the boy narrowed his eyes and focused on something behind her. She watched his hand move to his gun.

"Hollow," he muttered.

Rukia's eyes went wide as she spun around. As soon as she did, she saw what the boy had been looking at.

A human-like figure was staggering towards them, though the cars separating them from the Hollow provided an obstacle. It was hard to absorb intricate details of the creature from the distance, but Rukia was able to see that it was very unkempt, one of its arms was dangling as though it was broken and out of use. What stood out most to her, however, was the white substance covering a side of its face. It almost looked like it was wearing a broken mask.

"That's a Hollow?" she asked, stepping backwards to stand by the boy.

He glanced to her. "First experience with one?"

Rukia gulped and nodded.

"They're not that bad, really," he continued. "Most of them are slow and lack the skill to cause damage. Only a few have a higher mental capacity and the ability to run. This one looks like a lower-class one, judging by its walk." Taking out his gun, he released the safety and cocked it. "I figured the noise of your discharge would attract it. They're attracted by noise and smell. They have poor eyesight unless they're only a few feet away from you. This one looks like he has no idea where we are, he's just following the echo of the gun."

"He?" Rukia asked. She couldn't tell its gender from here.

The boy smirked at her confusion and her intent study of it. "After a while, it gets easy to distinguish gender."

As the Hollow continued to slowly approach them, the boy turned to Rukia.

"Want a lesson in aiming?" he asked.

Rukia looked down to her own gun. "Now?"

The boy shrugged. "As good a time as any. I told you it's lower-class, and look how far away it is. It has no chance of getting to us in this maze. If it gets too close, I'll cut in."

Her hand clenched around the gun. "O-Okay…"

The boy stepped behind her as she raised the gun up. He helped her keep the weapon steady and trained on the Hollow by taking her hands in his own.

"After prolonged use, the gun will start to feel light, so forget about its weight at the moment. Eventually it will feel like you're holding nothing at all," he began to explain. "With a Hollow, you have to hit them in the head for them to die. Shots anywhere else will stop their movements only briefly. Headshots are the only way to kill them, whether with a gun, or any other weapon."

Rukia nodded to let him know she was paying attention before he continued.

"Now," he said as he moved her hands to keep the gun on the Hollow, "keep the gun aimed at the Hollow. I'm going to let go, when you feel like he's close enough and you're comfortable, fire it."

"What if I miss?" Rukia asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Fire it again."

Rukia looked back at the Hollow and moved the gun to cover it again.

"Pull the hammer back at the top," he told her. "That will cock the gun and make pulling the trigger a lot easier."

Listening, Rukia pulled the metal lever back with her thumb, all the while keeping the gun trained on the Hollow. It disappeared behind a truck, but as it emerged, Rukia locked on to it and fired.

She stepped back at the discharge, but managed to keep the gun in her hands unlike last time. She realized she had closed her eyes when she fired, and when she opened them, she didn't see the Hollow.

"Did I get it?"

The boy started clapping as he stepped up next to her.

"You did," he said. "I'm surprised, actually; I was expecting you to miss it."

"So was I," Rukia said with a small laugh.

The boy smiled at her before saying, "We should get out of here before any more come. It's dangerous if we get surrounded by too many."

"Especially since I only have two bullets now," Rukia agreed.

"I can get you some ammo back at my place. C'mon."

Rukia watched him as he began to walk off. Quickly pulling the safety on her gun, she stuffed it into her backpack before running to catch up with him.

"I'm Rukia, by the way."

The boy looked to her and extended his hand.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."


	4. Chapter 4

**First post of the new year! Happy New Year all!**

* * *

Renji, I regret to say that the cities do not look like they did in that photography book. The sun was just beginning to set when Ichigo and I walked into it last night, but I could still see the state the buildings were in. Most are relics now; simply a concrete structure with about a dozen gaping holes in their sides. Ichigo claims they were caused by bombs and seeing as the nation was at war, I don't necessarily doubt him. Only a few buildings remain almost unscathed. One is this large skyscraper that only has a few burn marks marring its structure. The other is a smaller four story building which only has a portion of its roof collapsed.

Guess the Hollows aren't maintenance workers after all.

Ichigo lives in a small alcove in a building. It's really well hidden which he says is good to keep Hollows away. All it is is a heavy slat of wood covering a small hole in the side of the building, but Ichigo says the Hollows are too dumb to think of moving the thing. Inside is a wreck, but what can you expect when you live in a building that has been through a war? Ichigo has managed to build a fire pit in the middle so it's warm in the winter and so he can cook food. He also managed to find a mattress—from where I'll never know.

I ate my first animal last night: squirrel. Ichigo says they're all he can find in the city and he rarely leaves to hunt real game. Yesterday when we ran in to each other was the rare occasion he did leave. Obviously he came home empty-handed.

The squirrel, believe it or not, was not that bad. I was expecting a lot worse. That, or Ichigo really knows how to cook—which I doubt because he looked like he had no idea what he was doing while roasting it last night.

I also saw my first dog last night. It belongs to Ichigo. Well, Ichigo said it's not really his; he found it wounded one day and nursed it back to health. After it was better, the dog just followed Ichigo around. I can tell Ichigo cares for it though even when he tries to act like it's a nuisance. Ichigo named him Tensa. Tensa is a German Shepherd and a pretty big dog, but he's a sweetheart. Immediately when I walked in last night, he jumped up on me and started licking me. Ichigo yelled at him to get off of me, but I could see the smirk he was having trouble hiding.

I told Ichigo I'm trying to find a haven; he told me I'm chasing a pipe dream. He believes the havens don't exist. I think he's bluffing though. If he doesn't believe they're real, then what made him come to the surface three years ago?

Maybe I'll find out one day, but right now Ichigo is yelling at me to come eat before the squirrel gets cold. Squirrel for breakfast? I liked it last night, but I'd rather have fruit for breakfast. Even the processed bacon underground sounds more appealing right now…

May 5, 2208

**Chapter Four**

"You gonna come eat or not?"

Rukia closed her notebook and stowed it away before rising to her feet.

"I'm coming; it's not like it's gonna run away," she retorted while stretching.

Ichigo had been kind enough to let her stay the night last night. After all, by the time they had arrived at his place, the sun had set and darkness was quickly settling over the city. Ichigo said he would never leave someone alone in the streets at night, regardless of who they were—especially if they had no idea what they were doing. Rukia had slept upon several blankets and had used her backpack as a pillow. It wasn't her bed back home, but she hadn't been expecting anything glamorous. Well into the night, Tensa had walked over to her spot on the floor and had cuddled up against her, providing all the warmth Rukia needed.

"Do you always eat squirrel for breakfast?" Rukia asked, petting Tensa on the head while she sat down on an upside down crate.

"When it's the only thing available, yes," Ichigo replied. "I don't suppose you're carrying around eggs and bacon in that backpack of yours, huh?"

"Just crackers."

"I'll take the squirrel."

The two ate their meal in silence. Ichigo eventually began cutting off pieces of meat to feed to Tensa who then thanked him with a slobbery kiss on the cheek. Ichigo grumbled profanities afterwards yet his hand still managed to find its way behind the dog's ear for a scratch.

"So," Ichigo broke the silence as he collected her dish. "You're looking for a haven?"

"I didn't just come up here to wander around, so yes. I heard there was one to the south; that's where I'm headed," Rukia explained.

Ichigo set the dishes in a box by the fire before turning back to Rukia. He let out a sigh before he sat back down.

"I hate to say it, but I doubt it still exists. And before you ask why I think that, it's because this place is—or was—a haven too. It fell to the Hollows a few months ago. The only places that are truly safe in this city are Headquarters and this place. You did notice all the sneaking around we were doing last night, right?"

Rukia nodded, recalling the fact that Ichigo had been moving swiftly and quietly last night, urging Rukia to keep up and not make any noise.

"I'm not saying the haven in the south doesn't flat out exist, but if you do intend to travel that far, you need to know what you may encounter," Ichigo finished.

"How did this place get overrun?" Rukia asked.

"Swarm of high-level Hollows," Ichigo replied. "The one we encountered yesterday was low-grade, small fry. The higher Hollows are the ones you need to look out for and protect yourself from. They're smart, can run and climb, and don't give up until their prey is captured or dead. The mask on Hollow's heads, its completion is how you tell the grade of a Hollow. The more complete, the more powerful and intelligent. The one before was only a fragment, but they can grow to cover the entire face and even more than that."

"Why does the mask stop on some, but not others?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Exposure to the virus. It depends on how long they lived with it before they died."

Rukia took all this information in carefully, yet something seemed off. Looking up at Ichigo, she narrowed her eyes.

"How do you know all of this?" she questioned.

Again, Ichigo shrugged. "You begin to pick up on everything the longer you're up here."

"So all of this knowledge is just casual observation?"

"More or less."

"What about the 'Headquarters' you mentioned? Is it still up and running?"

"A few people still remain there. Most fled—or attempted to, anyway—when the city began to fall. I suppose if you still want to get to the haven in the south, you could speak to the haven's leader," Ichigo said. "But we're not heading there until you've had some weapon training. The place is on the opposite side of the city with hundreds of Hollows in between and I'm not covering your ass the whole way there."

"Who said I needed you to come with me?"

Ichigo actually laughed at that. "You really think you'll make it there on your own?"

"If I hadn't met you yesterday I would have been going to the south on my own," Rukia argued.

"In that case, our meeting was a blessing," he responded. "Listen, I'm not trying to demean you or anything, but I highly doubt you would have lasted a month on your own. You have no weapon experience. How were you planning on killing Hollows?"

As Rukia tried to recall the methods she and Renji had come up with, now in light of the situation, they all sounded ridiculous. After hearing everything from Ichigo, she doubted branches and rocks would do it.

Ichigo smirked at her silence. "See? You are glad you found me."

"I don't think I'd use the word '_glad_'," Rukia mumbled.

"Relieved?"

"I'll take that over glad…"

XxXx

At high noon, Ichigo and Rukia left to do some training outside of the city. Rukia watched with interest as Ichigo scuffled around his home gathering things here and there and putting them in a duffle bag. A lot of the items looked like weapons, though Rukia couldn't necessarily identify them. Some others just seemed to be junk: cans and bottles, a rock here and there.

"Why are we taking all of this stuff?" she finally asked as Ichigo was zipping up the bag.

"Target practice," he replied, hefting the bag onto his shoulder. "You'll see when we get there."

Walking over to the door, Ichigo pushed the door aside ever so slightly before peering out. Slowly and carefully, gun in his hand, he made his way out before giving Rukia the clear and waving her out, Tensa following behind.

"Okay, we shouldn't have as much trouble getting out of the city since it's day time. Hollows like the night better," Ichigo said as they made their way down the alley.

"Why?"

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at her. "Don't all zombies?" he questioned with a smirk.

Rukia simply rolled her eyes.

They were almost out of the city when Tensa halted in the front and began to growl.

"What is it?" Rukia asked.

"There's a Hollow up ahead," Ichigo explained.

Quietly, he shuffled to the end of the street. Rukia watched as he peered around the corner before quickly pulling himself back against the wall. Discarding the bag to the ground, he opened it up and rifled through it. Rukia shuffled up next to him.

"Here," Ichigo whispered as he handed her a metal pipe. "Take this just in case." Rukia noticed he had a knife in his hand. "I'm going to jump around the corner and surprise it. It doesn't look too tough, but I don't know if there's another close by. If there is, you strike it with the pipe."

"In the head, right?" she asked for confirmation.

Ichigo nodded before gripping the knife tightly in his hand. Rukia held her breath as she watched him spring around the corner with a yell. She heard the Hollow growl and could hear its footsteps steadily growing. It wasn't running, so Ichigo must have been right about its grade. She peered around the corner herself just in time to see Ichigo jump towards the Hollow, knife raised high. Suddenly, Tensa bolted down the street towards the Hollow as well. Rukia was about to call him back, when she watched him grab the Hollow by its ankles and bring it to the ground. That gave Ichigo the perfect level and time to go for the Hollow's head. Rukia grimaced and looked away as blood splattered the street. When she shot the gun yesterday, she hadn't been close enough to witness the gore, but this was much closer. It wasn't like human blood either. It was black and looked to be much thicker. Rukia fought back a hurl before emerging from the corner and walking towards Ichigo and Tensa.

"Well, that was…different," she muttered.

Ichigo noticed her pale face and the way she was looking at the Hollow's head. "You get used to it," he said. "Besides, nothing you can really do about it unless you want to end up dead."

Wiping the blood on the knife off on the Hollow's shirt, Ichigo stood back up and retrieved the bag from Rukia. "Come on; let's go before we run into any more."

"Did you use the knife this time because it's quieter than a gun?" Rukia asked as they continued walking.

Ichigo nodded. "Didn't want to make any more come. Guns are safer because you can kill from long distance, but they're dangerous because of their noise. Firing that one yesterday wasn't too bad because of the location. We were out in the middle of nowhere; it would have taken a while for a Hollow to show up. Here in the city however, even though the echo bounces off the buildings, it's easier to pinpoint. If I had fired a gun back there, a Hollow would have been there in no time."

"What if we had been surrounded back there?" Rukia asked.

"Then I would have fired the gun. Quicker kills," he said. "In a situation like that, killing is more important than attracting attention. Hell, if you have a bazooka on you, use it."

"Have you ever been surrounded by them?"

Ichigo responded in the affirmative, though the look he cast her told her he wasn't going to tell her any more than that. Rukia shut her mouth and they made it to the edge of the city in silence.

Rukia noticed now in the light that the city was surrounded—or had been surrounded—by a wall and fence. Most of the wall had crumbled no doubt due to the Hollows' rampage, and the fence had gaping holes in it here and there despite the barbed wire. She supposed the wall had been built around it for the haven and had been where lookouts had been stationed. Ichigo led her through one of the many holes in the fence and just like that they were back on the highway.

XxXxX

"Come on!" Ichigo shouted over the fire of a gun. "What happened to that perfect aim from yesterday?"

Rukia cocked the gun again and shot at another can sitting on a rock about fifty feet away. The bullet just barely grazed the can which wobbled a bit before remaining still. Hearing Ichigo snort behind her, she glared over her shoulder.

"That was pure beginner's luck yesterday," she retorted. "Besides this gun's different. It's much heavier."

"That's because it's a better gun. The gun you used yesterday was a standard issue Glock. This is a military-grade rifle. Longer range, larger bullets, better effect," Ichigo provided.

"I like the Glock better," Rukia mumbled.

Ichigo sighed before approaching her. "That's just because you don't know how to use this one yet," he said.

"Well, why did you start me out on this one if I can barely use the Glock?" Rukia asked.

"I just told you. This one is better. Try again; if you miss this time, I'll let you practice with the Glock."

Rolling her eyes, Rukia held the gun up and aimed it at one of the many cans. She let out a deep breath before pulling the trigger back.

This time the bullet hit the rock, missing the can completely.

"Damn it…"

"Glock it is, then," Ichigo said, taking the rifle from her and handing her the Glock she fired before.

Rukia held the Glock up and immediately noticed a substantial difference.

"Much better," she sighed.

"Let's just see if you hit your target this time," Ichigo muttered.

Aiming the gun at the same can, she closed one eye before firing off another round.

The can flew off the rock with a _clink_, landing several feet away. Tensa immediately jumped up from his spot in the shade to go fetch it with a playful bark.

"Looks like my perfect aim didn't disappear," she said with a smirk, facing Ichigo.

"I'll be the judge of that," he replied. "Hit the rest of them."

And Rukia did just that. Discharge after discharge her aim never failed. Each can was sent flying and after each shot fired, Rukia found what Ichigo had said yesterday was true: The gun was becoming lighter in her hands. Tensa was having a field day retrieving all the cans and as Rukia turned around to take in Ichigo's reaction, she began laughing at his agape mouth and wide eyes.

"Well, Mr Judge? Do I pass?" she questioned.

"Y-yeah…" Ichigo stuttered.

Shaking his head, he snatched the Glock from Rukia before giving her the rifle she had started out with.

"So, moving on to the rifle…"


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sorry for the massive delay of this chapter. College life, you know? 16 credit hours plus 15-20 hour work weeks really begin to take their toll. However, summer is just a month away, so after this hectic month of April (**_**6**_** essays, people! **_**Six**_**! 35 pages in total!) I will be home free. Well, aside from work, but I can handle that. Anyway, please review and see ya in the summer!**

* * *

I cannot possibly cram anymore knowledge about guns into my head. It feels like it's going to burst. Over the past week, Ichigo has taught me so much about so many guns, I've fired off enough rounds to supply a small army—where Ichigo gets his unlimited supply of ammunition from I'll probably never know—and my shoulders, arms and hands are sore from the tight grips and kickbacks.

According to Ichigo, however, I should be good to go when fighting off Hollows. I guess I should thank him. He didn't have to teach me how to shoot. He didn't have to take me in and let me stay with him the past week. He doesn't have to accompany me to this Headquarters tomorrow either, but he is.

I still have a lot of questions for him though. He just seems to know _too_ much about the Hollows and the world up here. Granted, he's been living up here for years, but could he have really harbored this much knowledge just from simple survival? Where and when did he acquire all these weapons as well? He has military-grade rifles and loads of bullets as I mentioned already. What did he do, raid a military base? I mean, I wouldn't be so surprised if he did—it's just been sitting there for a century—but then, how did he get them to fire? Hundred year old guns probably shouldn't fire as well as his do.

Then again, what do I know? I hadn't even _seen_ a gun until a week ago.

Also, I barely know anything about the guy. I know his name, the fact that he's been up here for three years and that he learned to shoot at age ten, but that's it; and that's just what he told me the first day we met. He doesn't talk about himself. Either he's modest, or he's hiding something. I try not to scare myself into thinking he has some dark secret or whatever, but wouldn't you be cautious in my situation? I'll give him credit that he hasn't asked me any questions about myself in return though. Oddly enough, now that I think about it, I can't even remember what we _do_ talk about. We do talk, just not about anything significant. Other than the havens, Hollows, and guns, our topics are limited.

We sure fight though.

Well, not really fight. It's more like a constant bicker that has a hint of humor in it. He's gotten around to calling me a midget and I've gotten in the habit of calling him a strawberry in return. It's not my fault his hair is easy to make fun of! And honestly, he calling me a midget isn't that bothersome; Renji always teased me about it back home. I can tell it irks him when I call him names though. Three years by yourself with only a dog for company, I guess you forget how humans interact. I'm surprised he hasn't become a hermit.

Anyways, my firelight is dying and Ichigo turned in hours ago. We're heading to Headquarters tomorrow and according to Ichigo we have a fight ahead of us. He mentioned the fact that it's on the opposite side of the city and that the Hollows have made the streets their home. I'm curious, excited and nervous all at the same time. Curious as to what this Headquarters really is and to find out more about the haven to the south, excited to test out my new skills, yet also nervous about it too. What if I freeze once a Hollow comes after me? I've practiced firing at moving targets, but firing at a can being thrown in the air and firing at a _thing_ that wants to eat you are two different things entirely. I know Ichigo will be there to have my back, but I want to prove that I can hold my own. I don't want to have to rely on him. What if we get separated? I need him to know that if that happens, I'll be fine on my own. He doesn't need to be risking himself for me.

Regardless of what happens, tomorrow's going to be a big day. The fire is now completely out, so I suppose that's my signal to turn in as well.

Wish me luck.

May 11, 2208

**Chapter Five**

The next morning was silent as Ichigo and Rukia prepared their trip to Headquarters. Ichigo was busy assorting all of the weapons and setting aside what they would need. Rukia watched him for a bit and tried to think if she should ask to help or not. After a while, she thought against it and retreated to her corner of his house and pulled out Aiko's mother's diary. She hadn't had a chance to read it much yet.

She didn't know how much time had passed when Ichigo thrusting a gun towards her brought her back.

"We're all ready if you are," he said.

Rukia took the gun and marked her page before placing the diary back in her bag. She contemplated bringing all her stuff. Was she expected to take off to the south on her own as soon as they left Headquarters? Was this the extent of her invitation? Would Ichigo think she was settling in too much by leaving her bag behind?

"Should I bring my stuff?" she decided to ask finally.

Ichigo shrugged. "Depends on how fast you want to leave here. You're welcome to hear what Headquarters has to say and take a night or so to decide. I'm not gonna kick you to the streets once you get your answer."

Rukia smiled at his words. "Thanks, Ichigo."

"Don't read too much into it, though," he replied gruffly, although Rukia was quick to notice the slight quirk of his lips.

With that brief exchange, they set off.

XxXxX

Ichigo was right when he said the Hollows had turned the city into their home. The streets were _packed _with them. Around every corner, in every alley, nestled in every crevice, _everywhere_. Rukia shuddered to think what the streets were like at night if they were this packed during the day. Luckily, Ichigo's house was on the outskirts of the city, so when they arrived her first night, they hadn't needed to venture deep into the city. Rukia had yet to experience the city at night and feared doing so.

As Ichigo took down another Hollow, Rukia jogged to catch up to him.

"How much further?" she asked.

Ichigo huffed as he reloaded his gun. "We've barely made a dent," he replied. "How are you on ammo?"

Rukia checked her clip. "Five in the clip, one in the chamber."

Rukia could've sworn she saw Ichigo roll her eyes as more Hollows rounded the corner.

"It'll have to do for now," he said. "Remember, you have a knife on you too."

Quickly taking out the four Hollows approaching them, Rukia then asked, "Shouldn't we have started using the knives from the start? Isn't all this firing attracting more Hollows than necessary?"

"I wasn't expecting that sudden ambush after rounding the first corner. Had it not been for that, I would've gone with the knives."

It was true; upon emerging from Ichigo's hideout, they had rounded only one corner when they were confronted with a mob of over twenty Hollows milling about in the street. Thinking fast, both of them had immediately drawn their guns and started firing off shots. Taking the enemy down quickly took priority over being quiet in that moment.

"I only have one round left," Rukia pointed out as they hid behind a corner to view the next street.

Ichigo looked around.

"Okay, we'll run into that building there to reload our guns and plan our route from here, got it?" he explained.

Rukia nodded and Ichigo took off. The Hollows on this street seemed less observant as they quickly evaded their vision. Ichigo broke the rusted chain on the doors with the butt of his pistol before kicking in the doors. Rukia quickly shuffled in, followed by Ichigo slamming the doors closed behind them. Ichigo removed a metal pipe from the bag he had with them and barricaded the door with it.

"Right, so what's your situation?" he asked once he realized they were safe for the time being.

"No ammo at all now in here," Rukia said, waving her Glock, "and I really want to hold off using this AK-47 if I can."

Ichigo chuckled before rooting around in his bag for the ammunition. He threw the box to Rukia before checking his own gun.

"Any way we can avoid the street by chance?" Rukia asked. "If we keep this up, we'll be out of ammunition by the time we head back."

"I was thinking the same thing," Ichigo agreed. "Some of these buildings are close enough together that we may be able to run across some of the rooftops. If we can't make the jumps, we should try to keep to the alleys. I've only seen about one or two in them so far."

"These have all been lower-class Hollows, right?" Rukia had picked up. "How common are the upper-class?"

Ichigo shrugged. By now, they had replenished their arsenal and Ichigo was leading them to the stairwell.

"I don't honestly know. We probably will encounter a few today, but then again, we may not." Sneering over his shoulder at her, he added, "It's not like I have any official statistics to go by here."

Rukia simply rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You've been such an expert so far, I was sure you'd know the answer," she smarted back.

"Believe it or not," Ichigo said as he broke open the door to the roof, "there are many things I don't know."

"I'd believe it," Rukia mumbled under breath.

They approached the edge of the building before examining the gap in between where they were and the surrounding buildings.

"There," Ichigo said, pointing to a tall building with a large spire on its top off it the distance.

"_That's _the building we have to get to?" Rukia nearly balked.

"Told you it was across the city."

As Ichigo walked around the rooftop examining all their options Rukia continued to study their destination. It had to have at least 200 floors. It was one of the few buildings Rukia noticed didn't have much damage done to it. It looked like it had caught fire at one point, but other than the black scarring, it looked pretty well maintained from where she stood.

"Can we make any of these jumps?" Rukia asked as Ichigo walked back to her.

"One," Ichigo replied, pointing to a building to the right of them.

"How did you get to the Headquarters before?" Rukia then asked.

"I haven't been since this city fell. I only know the route from the streets. This is all improvisation at the moment."

By now, they were standing at the edge of the building again. Rukia looked at the gap they had to cross. It looked like quite a distance and she didn't know if she'd actually be able to make it. Ichigo seemed confident this was their best shot though.

"You can make this?" she questioned. "Seems kinda far."

"Just 'cause I haven't been to Headquarters from the rooftops doesn't mean I've never done this before. When I was on my own, it was the easiest way to leave the city at night to hunt," he explained. "Besides," he added, "you're not aiming to land on the roof. You land on the fire escapes and then climb the rest of the way up. Most of these buildings were built with metal structures to escape if the building caught fire. They run from the roof to the ground, with exits at each level."

Rukia understood what he meant, for indeed there was a black staircase hugging the building's wall.

"A hundred years of rusting and a war, you think it will support our landing?"

Ichigo shrugged, but was smirking.

"Only one way to find out."

Before Rukia could call out for Ichigo to wait, he was in the air. Her chest tightened as she watched him fall. All of Ichigo's previous experience must have paid off however, because he landed safe and sound on the fire escape. Rukia let out a deep breath in relief, then inhaled sharply when she realized _she_ still had to do the same.

"Come on, Rukia!" Ichigo hollered to her.

"Damn it, you better catch me if I fall!" she yelled back.

Ichigo nodded and gripping a bar for support, held out his hand.

"I will!"

Rukia shut her eyes briefly before stepping back to get a running start. Skipping the countdown, she simply took off. When she reached the edge she put all her power into her push off the building.

The fall seemed to take forever. She could see herself nearing the building, but also noticed how she was falling more than she should be in order to land on the fire escape. She looked to Ichigo who still had his hand outstretched, an unyielding look of trust glowing in his eyes. She gulped before reaching out to him.

A quick, sharp pain jolted down her arm as she came to a jerking stop. Looking up, she saw Ichigo had indeed caught her. Pulling her to safety, Ichigo released her wrist before placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You okay?"

Rukia was still breathing heavily from the adrenaline, but managed a breathy yes.

"I think I pulled a muscle in my shoulder though when you caught me," she said as they stood up.

Ichigo flinched. "Sorry," he said. "You still able to press on?"

"Of course!" Rukia replied. "It's not that bad really. I can still fire my gun, if that's what you're asking."

"Good," Ichigo smirked before becoming serious. "If it starts hurting though, let me know. I have no problem doing most of the killing."

"I'll be sure to let you know." She smiled briefly before looking up and down the fire escape. "So, now what?"

Ichigo looked up. "We see if we can make the next jump."

"At this pace, all my limbs will be hanging by a thread," Rukia mumbled under her breath as she followed Ichigo up the stairs.

In the end, it turned out they in fact _couldn't_ make the next jump. Not even Ichigo was willing to try it and so they were forced to come up with a different plan. Eventually, they decided the old subway tunnels would be the safest bet. Ichigo hadn't ventured down to the subway yet so he didn't know how many Hollows would be occupying the tunnels, but it was worth a shot. After all, they were positive the streets were filled with them.

Darting from alleyway to alleyway and building to building, they eventually found a stairwell that wasn't caved in. There were no Hollows around to follow them down, so they carefully began their descent.

The subways were dark and dank. Luckily, Ichigo had thought to bring flashlights. Rukia had thought this still wasn't going to be enough because the batteries had to be at least a hundred years old. Would they even still work? Ichigo had then explained that flashlights didn't run on batteries anymore. He didn't know exactly how they were powered now, but didn't question it. It was simply one of the technological advances that had taken place before the war. Rukia didn't have flashlights underground since most everything had lights everywhere you went. All she knew about flashlights were from history books, and clearly she had skipped school the day they learned flashlights didn't run on batteries anymore—that or their textbooks were really old.

"Wow," Ichigo muttered as their lights illuminated an old train. "It's huge!"

"Guess it has to be in order to hold as many people as they did," Rukia commented. "How many do you think are down here?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Hundreds, probably. This city is huge."

"Do you even know which city this is? I can't believe I never even asked where I was when you picked me up."

Rukia heard Ichigo chuckle and turned to see what was so funny.

"There's your answer."

_New York City, Station 3_ was printed on the column right next to them.

"Well, that wasn't obvious enough," Rukia deadpanned.

"To answer your question, I did know, but you never asked," Ichigo said.

"Do you have any idea how far south this city is?"

Ichigo shook his head. "None. I traveled east to get here and that's all I know."

As they continued their journey through the tunnels, Rukia thought about what she was going to say at Headquarters. Surely the leader of this haven knew something in regards to other havens. Maybe they would give her directions, maybe they would even help her leave. Then another thought crossed her mind: maybe they were all gone. What if they were all overrun like this one? Rukia had seen the walls, had seen the damage done to them. If it was possible for one haven to be destroyed, wasn't it possible for all? If there were none left, what would she do? Go back underground?

"Hollow," Ichigo whispered, breaking her out of her reverie.

They hid behind a fallen column and waited for its approach. Rukia had her gun at the ready, but she saw Ichigo motion for her not to shoot and watched as he took his knife out instead.

When the Hollow was getting ready to pass them, Ichigo leapt out and stabbed it in its head. It sputtered before collapsing in a heap next to him.

"I don't know what firing a gun would do down here," he explained once he was sure the Hollow was dead. "This place may not be sturdy enough to hold the echoes anymore. If we get caught by a swarm all the gunfire could be enough to send this place crumbling down. Let's stick to the knives for now."

Rukia just nodded in compliance.

XxXxX

"Do you think we should go up to street level?" Rukia asked after what seemed like several hours. "We have to be getting close, right? We've been down here for a while."

Ichigo wiped his forehead with his shirt before agreeing.

"It's getting pretty hot down here too. I think we're close. The last station we passed said 3rd Avenue. If I remember correctly, the Headquarters is on 5th Avenue."

"The street signs are still standing?" Rukia questioned. "Seems light they would be one of the first things to go in a war."

Ichigo just shrugged in response. "I'm not a street sign; maybe they're stronger than we think."

"I just hope our exit isn't blocked," she said. "It took us a while to find an entrance that wasn't caved in, it's probably going to be the same story all over again, don't you think?"

"If it is then we continue on and then backtrack once we get back to the surface."

It turned out that the exited they wanted was indeed blocked.

"Figures," Rukia grumbled as they examined the rubble blocking their path.

Ichigo handed Rukia his light before attempting to move some of the mess, but it was much too heavy; plus, he didn't want to make things worse on accident.

"Guess we'll have to continue on and double back on the streets," Ichigo said, turning around to face Rukia. "There's no way we're clearing this without causing a cave in."

Rukia huffed but didn't say anything as she made to follow Ichigo. The rest of their trip was spent in silence. Luckily, the next stairwell wasn't blocked, so they weren't stuck down there for much longer. It was also a relief that it was still daylight. Rukia had no idea how long they had been down there and she was beginning to think the sun had already set.

The sun was blinding at first as they reached the last step. As Rukia gradually grew accustomed to the light though, she noticed the scene before her looked very familiar.

The painting from the photography book. The city scene that had both a night version and a day version. Of course, a lot had changed since the photo had been taken, but the thing that gave it away was the giant, cracked, TV screen, still managing to hang on to the front of one building.

"What's with that look?" Ichigo questioned once he realized Rukia had stopped once emerging from the subway.

"This is the city in an art book I have," she replied, still looking around at all the buildings. "It's a photography book and in it is a picture of this exact spot, only it was taken from the sky or an adjacent building. I know because that TV is in the photo."

"You like art, huh?" Ichigo asked, eyebrows raised.

"I love it," Rukia replied. "It was the only thing underground that contained the truth about above. My friend and I would constantly steal books from the library and look at all the paintings, photos, whatever we happened to take that day."

"I bet this place was really something back in its hay day," Ichigo said, now taking the time to look around himself.

"Judging from the picture, it was. All these buildings were lit up in different colors and that TV was constantly on. I mean, in the picture it was stuck showing the news, but I bet it showed other stuff."

"It must've been something," Ichigo nearly sighed.

"You think it'll ever be like that again?" Rukia asked. "Before the war?"

Ichigo shrugged as they started walking again. "It could, I guess. It'd take a long while though. I can't imagine how many cities like this there are spread across the country. I passed through a few when I was on my own, but none were anything like this."

"And I bet a lot of them were completely destroyed from the war," Rukia added.

Ichigo just nodded in agreement. They turned a corner and Ichigo stopped and pointed.

"There," he exclaimed. "We're nearly there."

The tall, pointy building was looming ever closer now. Rukia noticed how much taller the building looked now compared to back when they were on top of that building hours ago.

They were surprised they ran into no Hollows since coming from the subway, but relieved as they made it the few blocks to Headquarters with no problem. Stowing their weapons away, Rukia followed Ichigo inside through a fascinating thing called a revolving door.

Rukia was surprised to feel how cool it was in the building. It came as a relief to both of them, having been traveling in the heat and stuffy subway for so long.

"There's still electricity?" Rukia questioned, hearing the soft hum of the air conditioning and noticing the many lights on. Wouldn't that have been lost during the war?

Again, Ichigo shrugged. "I know that before the haven fell they were able to restore the electricity using generators and some other technology stuff. Maybe it was never compromised when the Hollows came through."

Rukia followed Ichigo to the elevators which, like the flashlights, were also different than any textbook she ever read. They were more like an air lift. Instead of a shaft, there was merely a platform in clear, glass tubing. When Rukia stepped on and Ichigo pushed the button for the top floor, the platform shot up faster than any elevator Rukia had ever heard of. The speed nearly knocked the breath out of her, and when the ding signaled their arrival on the top floor, Rukia realized she had actually closed her eyes during the ascent.

"Yeah, that was my reaction my first time, too," Ichigo spoke up as they exited, having seen Rukia's reaction.

"That was insane!" she exclaimed.

"Just wait 'til we go back down," Ichigo said. "It's even more insane."

Rukia didn't doubt that in the slightest.

The two walked down a dimly lit corridor until they reached a door at the end.

"Is this it?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo only nodded in answer before knocking on said door.

A soft voice on the other side answered, "Come in!"

Pushing the door open slightly, Ichigo stepped in, Rukia following close behind. The room was a large conference room. The wall opposite the door was made completely of windows, giving Rukia a breath-taking view of the city below. Despite the ruins, the city was still stunning.

A large desk was situated in front of the windows and an elderly man sat behind it. Looking up from whatever he had been working on, he looked at his new visitors and his face lit up upon seeing the orange-haired teen.

"Ah, Ichigo!" he exclaimed. "It's been a while."

Ichigo bowed quickly before responding, "Yes, sir. It's been hard to get here since the haven fell."

"Have you been well?" the elderly man then questioned.

"Yes, just fine. No Hollow troubles at all. I now have quite a knack for hunting as well."

"Well, that's good. Now," he cleared his throat as he looked to Rukia. "Who is this?"

Ichigo stepped aside to give Rukia the floor.

"I'm Rukia Kuchiki, sir," she explained. "I'm from the underground."

"Oh?" the man seemed quite surprised.

"I'm looking for a haven," she continued. "I heard there was one to the south." She looked to Ichigo, who nodded for her to continue. "I was wondering if you knew whether or not it still exists. Ichigo has been very kind and helped me get this far."

The man chuckled before standing and approaching the two.

"He's always had a kind heart," he agreed, causing Ichigo to look away, a modest blush tinting his cheeks.

"I'm Juushiro Ukitake," the man introduced, extending a hand to Rukia which she gladly took. "Ichigo probably mentioned that I'm the 'leader' of this place."

"Yes, sir. He said that if anyone knew anything about another haven, it would be you," Rukia added.

"Why are you heading south, may I ask?" Ukitake asked.

"It's the only haven I know of; and even then I'm not quite sure, it's just a rumor back underground."

"Well, I'm sure there used to be several to the south of here, one which was at the southern point of the country," Ukitake began to explain. "However, I'm not sure which ones still exist. After ours fell to the Hollows, we lost all communication with the other havens. We haven't heard of many people leaving the haven or coming in to it. Ichigo was with the last group before it fell. I suppose a few people could have come in under radar now, but I wouldn't know who they are or where to find them." He chuckled. "As you can see, it's pretty crazy around here."

Rukia must have looked a bit disheartened for Ichigo soon spoke up in an attempt to help uncover any answers.

"How difficult would it be to get communications with the other havens up and running again?" he asked.

"Very," Ukitake replied. "As you know, Ichigo, most of our population left when the haven fell. Along with them, most of our techs fled as well. The few that are left here would have a lot on their hands, plus it would take who knows how long."

Ichigo frowned.

Ukitake looked back to Rukia. "The closest haven south of here is on the eastern seaboard. Are you trying to get to any particular haven?"

Rukia shook her head. "Not really. I just heard about them and wanted to see what they're like. I've lived underground my whole life. I don't know if you all know what it's like down there, but I feel trapped. It felt like I'd never make it out unless I broke out."

"How'd you get out then?" Ichigo asked, having never heard this story before.

"My friend distracted the guards and I ran past," Rukia answered. "I still can't believe our silly plan worked, but it did and now I'm here." Remembering something, Rukia then looked to Ichigo. "Were there guards where you came from underground?"

Ichigo shrugged. "In all honesty, I can't really remember. It's been so long ago."

"I'm willing to travel, Mr Ukitake," Rukia said, her attention now back on the elderly man. "I just feel like I need to find a haven to prove to myself that this world hasn't completely ended; that life still exists. According to the Authorities underground, it doesn't. I've already seen they lied about the planet being unlivable, I wouldn't be surprised if they lied about the havens too."

"I admire your determination, Rukia," Ukitake praised. "If you're that set on finding one, I suppose I have no right to stop you."

He walked back behind his desk and opened one of the many drawers.

"My only request is that you take one of these with you," he said, flashing a map up for her to see. "I will mark the havens I know of off the top of my head, and then you can have your pick of where to travel."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

"Do be careful though," Ukitake said in a grave manner. "I'm sure Ichigo has told you about the Hollows and I don't doubt that you've seen your fair share. However, one can never be too careful. And not with just the Hollows. Bandits, thugs; this world has gone to hell in the past hundred years. Many of us have been trying to restore it to its former glory, but I'm afraid it has been an uphill battle."

"I understand," Rukia responded. "I've studied what this place used to look like before the war and I'd give anything to see that way again."

"Well, like I said, I have no intention in stopping you. However," Ukitake added. "Dusk is quickly approaching. I know how far Ichigo's place is from here and how long you have to travel. It will most likely be dark before you reach halfway. I would feel much better if you both stayed here for the night. Ichigo knows this place used to house many back when the haven was up and running, and this place still serves as a bunker to some. I can have someone show you to a room, if you'd like."

Rukia looked to Ichigo to see what he wanted to do. He looked back at her and nodded his consent and Ukitake smiled.

"Good," he said, before pressing a button on his desk.

"Sentaro, Kiyone, please show Ichigo and Rukia to their rooms please," he spoke.

A static male voice then responded over the intercom system. "Right away, sir! On our way!"

"Ichigo," Ukitake spoke. "I'm sure you remember this place a bit. Our rec room and dining hall is still on the same floor as before."

Ichigo nodded. "Thanks. Dinner still served until nine?"

Ukitake smiled and nodded. "That's right, and lights go out at midnight."

A knock on the door sounded and a boy and girl around Ichigo and Rukia's age entered. They both looked slightly startled to see Ichigo.

"Ichigo?" The boy spoke. "What are you doing back here?"

"I'm here with her," he supplied. Then he broke out into a smirk and leaned in closer to the boy. "If you had really been listening to your page, you would've heard my name."

Sentaro flinched. "I was listening to the page! It could've been any Ichigo!"

Ichigo chuckled. "Yeah, sure."

Kiyone, who seemed to be calmer of the two, had approached Rukia. "I'm going to assume you're Rukia?"

Rukia nodded. "And you're Kiyone?"

Kiyone smiled and confirmed. "Sand I are Mr Ukitake's apprentices. Well, we were when this place was a haven, but after it fell we just never left."

Ichigo and Sentaro soon joined the girls and soon they were heading back to the elevator. Another quick, jolting elevator ride down and they arrived on the floor where all the residences were. Kiyone led Rukia to one room and Sentaro led Ichigo to the one directly across from it.

"There's a shower, bed, and even some clean clothes if you like," Kiyone told Rukia. "There's also a radio back from the haven days, but we haven't been able to get a signal up and running yet since it fell." She smiled. "Ichigo will be able to answer any other questions you may have."

Rukia smiled back. "Thanks, Kiyone."

"No problem!" Then she turned to Sentaro. "C'mon, Sentaro, back to work!"

"Hey! I was doing all the work before we were called!" Sentaro shouted as he caught up to Kiyone. "You were just sitting there reading!"

Their arguing was cut off as the elevator door shut and was gone with a soft _woosh_. Ichigo looked to Rukia.

"So," he asked, clearing his throat. "Dinner?"


	6. Chapter 6

**I promised myself I would write like crazy this summer and now, a month into break, this is all I have to show for it. Curses. **

**Anyways… read, enjoy, and drop a review!**

* * *

Headquarters is pretty nice. Well, compared to Ichigo's place at least… Ichigo and I each got our own rooms and there's a shower! I really wasn't expecting to see one of those again! I think I just stood there for an hour basking in the glory of it all before I even started bathing. _Now_ I'm expecting not to see one again. Once I hit the road, the only bathing I'll be doing is in creeks and lakes most likely.

The cafeteria was pretty amazing as well. The food was warm and there was more variety than just squirrel like at Ichigo's. Ichigo claims that before the haven fell, the food was even better. I believe it, but still, in a post-apocalyptic world, pork chops and mashed potatoes are pretty hard to come by. I'm not even going to try and fathom where they came from.

This place must have been something back in its days as a haven. Ichigo says there used to be ten floors which were used as living quarters and the cafeteria was large enough to accommodate so many people. Now, its giant space seems eerie with only twenty or so people occupying it at once. The rec room Ichigo showed me after dinner was also huge, though, like the cafeteria, it had to be. There is apparently another one a few floors down.

The headquarters takes up only twenty floors out of the two hundred. I asked Ichigo what the other hundred floors were used for, if at all; apparently, many of the floors were damaged beyond repair from the war. Many have collapsed ceilings, gaping holes in the floors, and countless walls blown out. The twenty floors chosen for headquarters were the least damaged and easiest to repair. I guess that explains why headquarters spans from the 70th floor to the 193rd.

I don't know if Ichigo plans to leave to head back to his place tomorrow or if we're expected to stay here longer. He's been pretty quiet since we arrived. Dinner tonight passed by in silence and we immediately split afterwards to head to our respectful rooms. I don't know if anything is troubling him or if he's simply run out of things to say, but I'm not sure anything I say can or will help. Maybe he's just tired. After all, our journey here _was_ exhausting.

Speaking of exhausting, I'm headed to bed.

May 12, 2208

**Chapter Six**

Rukia had planned on going to bed as soon as possible, but, despite how tired she felt, she couldn't fall asleep for the life of her. After several hours of tossing and turning and hopelessly counting sheep, she finally sat up with a huff. It wasn't as though the bed wasn't comfortable. Compared to how she had been sleeping since emerging from the underground, this was a five-star hotel. Then why couldn't she fall asleep?

Sighing, Rukia got out of bed and made her way over to the window. She imagined the view from this high up must have been stunning before the war. The streets and buildings all lit up, people milling about in the streets below, airplanes passing by way above. Now, however, it was pitch dark out there, save for the millions of stars, unaffected from the turmoil of war. It was unsettling not being able to see the ground below; disturbing not being able to see anything but darkness straight ahead.

A soft knock on her door jolted her away from the window. It had to be Ichigo, she thought. Who else would come knocking this late?

Opening the door, she saw the flash of orange hair indicating that it was indeed Ichigo. He had an almost nervous look on his face, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Did you suddenly become an insomniac, too?" Rukia questioned.

"Apparently," Ichigo huffed. "Good to know I'm not the only one."

Rukia noticed the lights in the hallway had been dimmed considerably since it was past curfew. A yellowish glow was all that illuminated the hallway, casting a sickly glow upon Ichigo.

"You want to come in or something?" Rukia asked.

"Actually, I wanted to show you something," Ichigo replied.

"Okay," Rukia responded, an elegant eyebrow raised with curiosity. "Are we allowed out after curfew?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I always wandered around before and was never bothered or caught. I doubt Ukitake would do anything if he found out anyway. He's a pretty lax guy."

Rukia matched his shrug.

"Lead the way then."

Shutting the door behind her, she followed Ichigo to the elevator. They got on and Rukia watched Ichigo press the button for the top floor. A second later, they had arrived and had stepped out into a dark hallway.  
"Is this part of headquarters?" Rukia asked, making sure to keep close to Ichigo, who had thought to bring a flashlight along.

"No," Ichigo answered. "I discovered it before the haven fell. You could say I was curious about what was on the other floors and didn't care what others said."

"You sound like me back underground," Rukia commented.

Ichigo looked over his shoulder and smirked at her. "Then I'm sure you'll like this."

After many twists and turns, they came to a stop in the middle of an empty room. The entire floor was empty. Deserted, it seemed, even before the war. There was no remaining furniture from beforehand, any mess, nothing. There was also no damage as well. It was like this floor had gone completely untouched; both by life and death.

"This better get better than an empty room, Ichigo," Rukia muttered as she watched Ichigo shine the flashlight all throughout the room.

"I could've sworn it was around here," Ichigo mumbled, seemingly unaware of Rukia's comment.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Rukia questioned as she looked around.

"A door," Ichigo answered. "In the ceiling."

"Why didn't we do this earlier? In the _daylight_?"

"'Cause I thought it would be cooler at night!"

Rukia rolled her eyes as she continued to watch Ichigo haphazardly swing the flashlight about.

"Are you certain this is the right floor?" she then asked.

"It has to be," Ichigo said. "No other floor would lead to the roof."

"The roof?" Rukia echoed.

She was about to question why they were going to the roof when Ichigo called her over with a triumphant "ha!".

"Here it is," he said. "Hold this," he added, handing Rukia the flashlight.

She kept it aimed at the door in the ceiling as Ichigo moved into a dark corner. He came back seconds later with a crate, which he then set beneath the door. Stepping up onto the crate, he then reached up and Rukia heard a dull _clank_ resound throughout the room. The door swung down and soon Ichigo had pulled a ladder out of the ceiling. Taking the flashlight back from Rukia, he shone it up to reveal a long climb. Rukia huffed. After her last climb up a ladder had ended up far more tiring than she had been expected, she wasn't too thrilled to see another one.

"We have to climb?"

Ichigo stared at her. "How else are we supposed to get to the roof?"

"A flight of stairs, maybe?"

"Nope," Ichigo replied. "Not in this building. Remember how it looked from the outside?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah, it had a pointy top."

"It's called a spire," Ichigo told her. "After this top floor, the roof keeps getting narrower and narrower until it reaches its tip of the spire. No flight of stairs could be built narrowly enough to get you up there. Thus," he gestured, "a ladder."

"Again, this better be good, Ichigo."

Ichigo chuckled. "Trust me."

Reaching up, he grabbed hold of one of the bars and hoisted himself up. Sticking the flashlight in his mouth, he turned around and reached down to Rukia. Getting the hint, she hopped up on the crate and reached for his outstretched hand. Once she had a good foothold on the ladder, Ichigo let her go as he began his ascent, Rukia close on his tail.

Luckily for Rukia, this climb wasn't quite as long as her one up from underground. In a few minutes, the ladder ended at small ledge with an equally small door. Ichigo hoisted a large metal beam out of place before shouldering the door open.

Immediately, they were met by a burst of strong wind. Ducking through the door, Ichigo led her outside.

The first thing Rukia noticed was how dark it was. Aside from the stars—which were hidden by a thin layer of clouds—there was no light. Granted, it was nighttime, but Rukia had never experienced darkness such as this. Back underground, even after curfew, there was always some sort of light on outside peoples' houses. Here, there were no lights in the sky.

The next thing she noticed was how quiet it was. She had remembered relishing in the quiet her first night up here. After years of that annoying, incessant hum of generators, the silence was a breath of fresh air. However, somehow tonight it seemed quitter than she recalled. If that was even possible, Rukia thought.

She remembered her view out the window moments ago, although experiencing it firsthand like this was ten times different.

"Why'd you bring me up here?" she asked, having to raise her voice to be heard over the occasional burst of wind.

Ichigo just shrugged. "I thought you would like it. Having come from underground, I bet this is all new to you."

"It is," Rukia agreed. "I've never seen night be so quiet or dark."

"I bet it wasn't always like this," Ichigo said, turning to face the remains of the city before them. "You know, before the war. This was supposedly one of the largest cities around. It's hard to imagine now, but I bet there were all sorts of tall buildings lit up at night, not to mention all the people, cars, music, whatever."

Rukia nodded, stepping up next to him. "You're probably right. I bet you couldn't ever really see the stars past all the skyscrapers."

Ichigo stretched. "I used to come up here in the haven days just for the hell of it," he said. "It's kind of creepy at night because you can't really see anything on the ground or in front of you, but it's also kind of peaceful; almost serene. It's like it's just you in the world, no one else. You can't hear anything or see anything except yourself. You're alone with your thoughts and you know nothing can disrupt you. This kind of serenity was probably hard to come by before the war, although there are probably millions of other ways to find peace that we will never know about."

"Wow." Rukia blinked. "That's deep, Ichigo."

Ichigo glared at her briefly. "What, you never take the time to think like this?"

"No, I do," she argued. "I just usually write it down in my notebook and not spill it to complete strangers in the middle of the night."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You're really not that much of a stranger now, Rukia. We've know each other for over a week. That, to me, makes you an acquaintance, not a stranger."

Rukia chuckled and nudged him. "I'm just kidding, strawberry."

XxXxX

"This is strange," Ichigo murmured as the two of them carefully made their way back from Headquarters the next day. "We haven't run into a single Hollow."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Rukia questioned, wondering why Ichigo seemed so transfixed by the fact.

"It is," he agreed. "But don't you think it's a little weird? On the way here we were almost overrun at points."

"Could they migrate? Like in herds?" she suggested. "Maybe they left the city."

Ichigo shrugged. "Anything's possible, I suppose."

"Well, let's just be grateful we don't have to deal with them right now," Rukia said as they closed in on Ichigo's place.

By the time they had made it back, they had only run into three Hollows; all of which were low grade. Rukia began to wonder how rare these higher-grade Hollows were. Why had they not encountered one yet? Ichigo claimed they existed, yet Rukia had been up here several weeks now and had never seen one. She thought this, however, and then recognized she should probably feel blessed that she hadn't seen one yet; Ichigo built them up to be these terrifying creatures.

After sliding the wood paneling aside, Tensa greeted them with an excited bark from his spot in the corner. Ichigo threw his bag to the side before collapsing onto his mattress. Tensa soon sidled up beside him and gave his master a lick on the face.

"Gross, Tensa," Ichigo muttered, though he yet again reached to pet the dog.

Rukia took the gun and any extra ammunition out of her backpack and placed it on a ledge where Ichigo kept all his weapons. Quietly, since it looked like Ichigo had suddenly decided to take a nap, she made her way to her spot and crawled on top of the blankets. As she began pulling her notebook out, Ichigo spoke up. Apparently he hadn't fallen asleep.

"So, when you heading out?" he asked.

Rukia scoffed. "Sheesh; if you're that ready to be rid of me you could've just left me at Headquarters."

"Your stuff was here, stupid."

"So I'm supposed to just up and leave now?"

"That's what I thought. Why hang around here?"

Rukia scowled. Was he really just kicking her out like this?

"In case you hadn't noticed, it's getting late," she said. "I thought you said you wouldn't let me or anyone travel at night?"

Ichigo sighed. "Damn; you're right."

"Are you really that anxious to get rid of me, Ichigo?" Rukia asked, her voice heavy now, any trace of a kidding undertone gone.

Finally, Ichigo turned to look at her.

"I thought you were anxious to find that Haven?"

"Not _this_ anxious."

"Well, it's not like I was going to kick you out on your own," he said afterwards.

Rukia scowled again; this time confused.

"What?"

He sat up to look her dead in the eye.

"I mean… I'm coming with you."


End file.
